rainbow mountains, coca leaves and yoga

Finally back in Cusco, a beautiful town I fell for only a week ago I was able to just relax for once and not have a schedule for every single day. It was great to do whatever I wanted and I basically just roamed around the streets every single day I was there (ended up finding a Starbucks and bought a bigger daypack (; ) A friend of mine from Switzerland ended up being in Cusco at the same time as I was so we both knew we definitely had to meet up. I had heard of this great trek to Rainbow Mountain, which funnily, not a lot of people had heard of. Marlo seemed interested as well so I pretty spontaneously booked us a tour for the next day, which meant I had to get up at 3.00am. Here we go again. Prepared as I was, the night before I laid out everything for the following day and made sure I somehow got to bed at about 10pm. Set my alarm, as you do, and prepared myself for a short night.

3.20am, the lights suddenly on and someones hammering at our dorm door. All I hear is 'Joelle, Joellee!' and 'They're waiting for you!'
I can tell you, that is the absolute worst way to be woken up. You're happily snoring away and out of nowhere someone abruptly pulls you out of your dreams and reminds you that you're late. I was totally stressed out, my heart hammering in my chest as if I ran a marathon and never got ready as quickly as I did that morning. After hastily sending off a desperate text to Marlo stating I slept in as I stupidly set my alarm for 3pm instead of 3am (FACEPALM!), five minutes later I was out the door, running to our little van and sank into my seat, an absolute mess. Waking up that way just messes with your whole mind and body, you know you're late, everybody's waiting for you and all that happened at the most ungodly hour in the morning. At least I got in some hours of sleep (with a certain someone's head falling on my shoulder every so often) although the roads ended up getting bumpier and bumpier as we left civilization and our drivers felt the need to blast loud, obnoxious music the whole way. Breakfast was served by a local family in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. We were led in to this backyard where you found an open toilet, sheep stable and living space for some evil geese. After climbing up a ladder we found ourselves in a small dining room and for the first time saw the faces of our fellow men joining us on this trek. Wasn't really sure what we were served as it was undefinable, but this Australian guy spilled half his portion down my leg, so that's that. At least I felt warm for a couple of seconds before I started shivering again.

A baño stop and geese-evading later the van was ready to go again and we tackled the last part until we finally continued by foot. When we got there the view first of all was absolutely stunning. The sun hadn't completely risen yet so there was this great vibe going on and in the distance you could see some huuuuge snow covered mountain tops. About a hundred meters in front of us stood a herd of Lamas (or maybe Alpacas) led by beautifully clothed indigenous people wearing sandals made out of car wheels. It was absolutely freeeezing so I was stunned how those people wheathered this cold practically barefoot and then there was me wearing about three pairs of socks and five layers of clothing.

After getting set up and one guy buying a horse for his equipment and drone we began our ascent. Now, at first it was pretty managable (one british dude didn't seem to cope well with the altitude though - after huffing and puffing his way up for the first 100m he decided to get himself a sturdy horse as well), but our guide was practically running up that mountain, hardly making any stops and even nagging us to go faster and telling us that we had to move on. It was a bit disturbing especially as I'd been told that at this altitude you shouldn't overexert yourself and take it as slow as necessary. The asthma kicked in about halfway through and having to constantly change clothes when getting into the sun or shade didn't help either. It really did get pretty hard and I must say the Inca trail definitely was nothing compared to that. Maybe it was just me, or the altitude but I couldn't wait until I reached the top.

It was also quite a bit frustrating as one of the horses was led by a small boy who couldn't have been older than nine or ten and he was just striding up there as if he was walking at sea level and sometimes even had to pull or push the horse, without looking a tad exhausted. I did end up giving him one of my bananas at a small stop though, as up there it's pretty damn hard and expensive to get a hold of fruit. (got over my jealousy I guess)

The guide kept telling us, oh, it's right up there, only 30 more minutes. He ended up sayingt that about five times, so those minutes just kept adding up. Oh well, I was doing pretty okay when we walked a couple of kilometers on a more or less flat plane but the last part, which was just steep as hell, definitely took it out of me. Finally I saw some sort of rainbowy structures on the ground, which meant, it couldn't be that far anymore. And soon enough, we reached the base of Rainbow Mountain (also known as Vinicunca) and tried to catch our breaths.

The last and final part still was to reach the actual summit to see Vinicunca in its full glory and that's when my wellfare kind of went downhill. We were at about 5000meters above sea level and paired with wind as cold as ice constantly smacking you in your face you're bound to feel a tad wonky on your feet. So coca leaves it was again, and I think, they might've actually helped a lot! Got our signature photos in front of the mountain and the guy with the drone even took some sick shots of us from above and filmed chasing sheep up a hill. Pretty fantastic and I'll try to find his footage!


After a quick and well-deserved break we began our descent (of course took us a lot longer than what the guide told us) and finally got to eat lunch. The long bus drive back was basically us just passed out in the back and sitting in the traffic. At last we arrived back in Cusco where Marlo and I decided to get some delicious pizza as a reward for our strenuous but pretty damn cool trek.

I stayed in Cusco a lot longer than expected, trying to figure out wheather or not to head up north again to check out a few places or to just continue on to Bolivia. Next to planning I also explored the city some more and found some lovely little hidden alleyways, beautiful shops (spent way too much money), got a well-needed pedicure and found a great yoga studio! Probably was one of the best classes I ever took and the atmosphere there was just great. Although holding a pose at ca. 3000m above sea level is quite a bit more challenging than expected.

Found some great reastaurants, serving vegetarian/vegan food and even came across a delicious creperie, getting hungry as I'm typing this. Whilst exploring the enchanting San Blas area I also found myself at a tiny coca museum, which looked pretty interesting. Upon entering I was given a quick summary of coca history and what I could find in the museum and soon began my own tour. It was pretty damn interesting what this green, small leave of a coca can do and how far back in history it actually goes. What amazed me the most was the fact that it was (in some parts even still is) used in the production of Coca Cola - yep, that's where the name comes from. Lightbulb.

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hakuna matata

The peruvian adventure continues after some wild nights out and sadly seeing off some peeps in our group. Next stop: Puerto Maldonado. Hello 30º Celsius and 100% humidity (+ every imaginable insect creature..)

Yep. From Cuscos miniature airport a ca. 1h flight took us into a completely different world. Instead of seeing mountain ranges out of our cabin windows, soon enough we were left speechless by the vast greenness and of course the Amazon river. It was absolutely stunning! When we stepped off the plane after our short ride we were immediately hit by the heatwave and sadly had to take off our statement aplaca jumpers. As after the jungle I wouldn't be flying back to Lima but stop off in Cusco again I had to leave all my luggage there and only travelled with a small duffle. So when that was picked up I was immediately hussled outside as the time has, once again, come to get my second to last rabies shot. Yay. Not sure if I mentioned the one in Puno (was a bit of a nightmare to get that one), but that was about a week back, and kindly our rainforest guide snatched up a taxi for me and together went on a hunt for a hospital willing to give me my really quite necessary shot. We were in a bit of a rush as we had to get back to the group in order to catch a boat taking us to our lodge in the middle of nowhere.
Stepping foot in to a jungle hospital is not something you get to see everyday. The term hygiene doesn't seem to exist over there, or at least has a different definition to how I interpret it. The nurse there was amazing and took me in to the childrens area where I got my lovely injection (it was pretty damn painful, even hours after).

In the end we managed to catch up with our group that in the meantime furiously rubbed themselves up with creams and deet, ready for some mosquitos. And of we went into the jungle. At first we had to drive in a little van for about 45min to reach the river and this was one of the worst roads I had ever experienced. We were jolted around and with every hole in the road (to be honest, can't even really call it a road) nearly fell out of our seats. However, when we finally did reach the river we were able to change into a more accommodation way of transport. The boat, which had to be kept in balance to prevent it from tipping over took us for another hour or so and we even got served delicious rice and veggies all wrapped up nicely in banana leaves.

Soon enough we made it to some stairs and a narrow, winded pathway that would eventually lead us to our lodge. And the lodge was freaking fantastic. It was pretty luxurious especially compared to where I slept at in Tena, Ecuador. Again, we had hammocks, but this time there was also a lounge, bar area (with wifi that worked, although they informed us it wouldnt (; ) and last but not least our amazing rooms with eco friendly soaps and shampoos. Oh yeah, and forgot to mention thefact that there were no windows, so right in front of our beds we basically saw monkeys swining from one tree to the other. Paradise.

After some delicious, fruity refreshments we were off to explore. Our rainforest guide was ever the pro and pointed out so many spiders, insects, plants and tarantulas our blind tourist eye wasn't really able to spot. We reached a lookout tower (can't remember how high it really was) that didn't seem too safe but still somehow managed to hold most of us. The sunset from up there was phenomenal and although I didn't really like how the tower started to sway, it was a lot safer up there due to the fact that the mosquitos prefered to eat up the ones closer to the ground.

Dinner was served and I have to say, in the jungle I ate some of the most amazing food. The same actually goes for the food in the jungle in Ecuador. I guess that's just the place to be to stuff your face with deliciousness. With full bellies we were off again to attempt to spot some nocturnal wildlife. We were pretty damn lucky. We took the boat again and saw some alligators but what I enjoyed the most were simply the stars. I couldn't get enough of how clear you were able to see the milky way, probably some planets, and all this was reflected in the amazon river. The night couldn't have gotten any better.

But it did. We stepped foot on the shore again and whilst I was busy trying not to trip over stones whilst looking up at the sky or the other way round looking at the ground  to keep myself from falling over and as a result hitting my head on lowhanging branches I nearly missed out on seeing spiders the size of my head (!!!), oppossuns and monkeys hiding away in the trees. And last but not least, the absolute highlight, we got to see a rare sight - a freaking sloth. Saying I was excited would be an understatement. I was simply over the moon.

The next day we were off to an early start and this time I wasn't complaining as I slept like a baby AND the sky was doing things that lightened up my tired soul (look at the first picture again). Boarded the boat once again before we started a short hike on which our fantastic guide pointed out interesting creatures and plants before we reached a small lake. Now this lake was beautiful, especially with the sun, the mist and overall great things nature those at dawn. We used some sort of wooden katamaran to navigate around the lake, used plants to draw tattoos on ourselves that ended up staying for more than a week and wait for it: we got to see otters. Overall, the jungle here blew all my expectations out the window. It was incredible .

Caught some evil piranhas and had a leg of a dead tarantula on my hand. Goals.
We returned at about 8am, which was insane as we've been on the go for four hours already. Some of us did kayaking, others climbed some trees but I decided to just grab myself a hammock and chillout for a bit and enjoy the last hours in the jungle. I also have to say the mosquitos here were a bit more aggressive than in Ecuador but still, I never got eaten alive which was pretty surprising... Not complaining though.

Later that day we sadly left the jungle, could've definitely stayed there for a couple days more, and explored Puerto Maldonado, its markets and the great foods (talking 'bout roasted nuts, coconut balls and a looot more). Our hotel also happened to have a pool, so must of us jumped into that one whilst enjoying cheap and disgusting cocktails. I also think that was our last night all together so we went out for a delicious dinner and believe it or not found a karaoke bar where things kind of got out of hand.

The next day it was not only time to say goodbye to Puerto, but also to some dear friends. The plane stopped over in Cusco before continuing on to Lima so it was quite and emotional, even teary-eyed goodbye to some great travel buddies. Luckily two fellow friends from the UK would be staying in Cusco aswell (and I'd be meeting them at a later stage again), so not all by myself after all.

Excited though to spend some more time in Peru, meet up with Marlo and do some yoga :)

Check to another jungle adventure and hakuna matataaaaaa

J x

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Oh, Peru!

It has definitely been awhile, I just can't seem to keep track of time and I don't even know where to begin. But I guess I'll try to recap my adventures in Peru.

It all really began in Lima, where I met my new group. And let me tell you, this group loooved to party. But being the whimp I was, far too tired to actually function the first night there, I went straight to bed. Which in my defense was acceptable as for our plane to Arequipa the next morning we had to leave at the most ungodly hour. Of course some of us didn't manage to get up at said hour, but in the end we did catch our plane. Landing in Arequipa was quite something because of the altitude (Can't remember how high up it was though...) and as soon as we stepped off the plane the panorama was just amazing. Volcanoes and humongous mountains reaching into the sky everywhere, it was incredible.

Arequipa itself was a beautiful colonial city and if you stretchd your neck high enough you were able to see some volcanoes in the distance. Seeing a couple of artisanal shops on our tour through the city, I knew straight away what I'd be doing after, my wallet didn't thank me. We visited a beautiful monastery with an unbelievable interesting history and nearly got lost in the beauty and vastness of it. Had my little shopping time and believe it or not; I actually tried Alpaca meat. Still not a fan of meat so wasn't that special but the fancy restaurant we were eating at gave us bibs - that says it all.

Next stop was Colca Canyon and I guess this was the point where I must have fallen in love with Peru. Can't even put the beauty of what we've seen into words, it's incredible how the land just folds out in front of you changing every couple of kilometres with some Vicuñas here and there and once in a while a gigantic Lama gang in the middle of the street. You won't get so see that in Switzerland. That was also the point where I was introduced to Coca leaves for the first time (and they have been my fellow friends up until now!). Yes, coca leaves are from an amazing little plant that when paired with some specific chemicals turn into lovely cocaine. That's also why the US started raiding plantages all over Columbia, Peru and Bolivia trying to keep the cocaine production at bay. The leaves itself are however harmless, in fact, to the people living in the Andes or at any higher altitude it is a necessity as it helps them deal with the altitude. That is why you always see men and women with one of their cheeks as round as a ball, chewing on their coca leaves. I have to say though I wasn't a big fan of the leaves at first (there's lovely proof of that on video which might end up in the travel vlogs). We had an actual ritual where we thanked pacha mama (mother earth) and then stuck them bad boys in our mouths. The taste is something to get used to and you aren't actually supposed to chew on them as you'll just end up with green bits all over your mouth. Just stick the ball to the side and let it do its magic when in contact with your saliva. At first your whole mouth will probably go numb, but what the leaves should do is to still hunger and thirst, good for the indigenous people workong the fields all day long, and preventing altitude sickness. Not really sure what it did for me at that moment and was pretty glad when I was able to chuck the ball into the bin (tried them again in Bolivia and was actually quite glad to have them as the altitude was making me feel reaaally lousy!) I like the magic tea though, an infusion of the leaves and some other herbs. After our coca leaf consumption though our bus ride got pretty fun, might've had something to do with the leaves. Everybody was up on their feet and dancing to 'El Taxi' (greeeat song by Pitbull haha) Fun times.

That day we also reached the highest point I thought I'd ever reach (nope, gonna get higher and didn't like it..) which was 4910 msmm which is pretty damn high. There was snow (!) and at first the altitude doesn't really get to you but after a couple of minutes up there during which I decided to run around a bit for whatever reason, you DEFINITELY start to feel something. Was pretty glad to go down a couple of hundred meters after that.

Visited a local market, stayed at a beautiful hotel in the middle of nowhere and did some ziplining again imitating spider man. Saw huuuge condors which were definitely worth getting up for early, shopped a bit and dressed up in peruvian traditional wear. Oh, and the hot springs were quite something aswell (;

Puno, Titicaca Lake was where we headed to next. A pretty strange city, in which I got lost in twice after some crazy nights out, but enchanting nevertheless. The lake though was definitely the highlight (also the fact that we got driven to it on tuktuks). Visiting the people living on the floating islands, islands actually made out of reef and no electricity, hearing them dance and sing was absolutely beautiful. We then drove a couple of hours across the lake, seeing the Bolivian mountain range in the distance and arrived at a beautiful island with only a couple of families living on it. We were warmly welcomed by each and eveyone and what still amazes me up to this point how the people in all the countries I've visited so far not only wore their traditional wear for the tourists sake but actually do so for themselves. Probably to be able to tell who's single, in a complicated relationship or definitely taken as they wear either hats, braids or other factors as indicators ;) The island along with the people were breathtaking and after a delicious meal we played soccer on the beach (sooo hard at 3800msmm, nearly died from lack of oxygen) and even went for a sneaky little swim in the lake which was freezing. One of the guys went skinny-dipping, he definitely froze his little butt off.

Nearly forgot what our next stop was, it's just really hard to keep track of it all... 

Cusco it was, a city I knew I'd be coming back to (which I did, and stayed longer than expected). Exploring the historic capital of the Inca Empire was quite something. Again, locals in their traditional wear on every corner. Here you noticed the effects of tourism more though. They tried to take pictures with you and their lamas or baby lambs whenever they could. Really you shouldn't support them as the lambs, which they carry around all day, mostly aren't able to walk, pretty damn sad. And to be honest, I really wouldn't enjoy getting spat in my face by a lama.

The capital of the inca empire was also a shopping paradise. And I guess as the cold was getting to me I had some excuses to buy pretty "alpaca" jumpers and other little useless things. Nightlife in Cusco is also pretty great, but again, you gotta get used to the altitude first. But I did get to dance salsa again, got free pisco sours prefer coca sours, yum!) and drink cheap mojitos, don't really need anything else.

On our way to our stop before the great inca trail we visited a lama/alpaca farm and saw how the locals handcraft beautiful textiles. If I had more space in my lovely mochilla, I would have bought a lot more! Passed by a couple more inca terasses and buildings, which is of course always interesting (think I've seen enough of them now though..) Ollantaytambo, the little village in the Sacred Valley, was enchanting. Little alleyways winding through it with lovely restaurants - the perfect place to prepare oneself for the Inca trail.

And soon enough the time had come, to once again get up freaking early in the morning to finally mount Machu Picchu! Excited as ever in the dawn we trotted to the train which was going to transport us a bit further into the Sacred Valley where our 7h hike would begin. I was a bit apprehensive as I spontaneously decided to do the Inca trail a couple days back and wasn't sure how my knee'd do or I'd react to the altitude. But in the end, I'm so glad I did it. The feeling when you reach the sun gate (after climbing up literal monkey steps) and finally spot Machu Picchu below you is just so satisfying and I guess not the same as when you just get driven to it. Also the things you see and experience on the hike are just not comparable. You share your pain and agony with everyone on the trek, motivate each other, get to see beautiful wildlife and notice how it changes on the way - it was just amazing!

Machu Picchu, however, although it was pretty great and left me speechless, didn't really meet my expectations. It was impressive, I'm definitely not denying that, but the trail did more for me, to be honest. We went up a second time form Aguas Calientes next morning to see the sun rise over the lost city and simply because the day before, we were too tired to really explore it. The sunrise was beautiful, probably also due to the fact that Machu Picchu wasn't overrun by nosy tourists yet (: To be there the earliest though, my fellow roomie and to other girls stood in the queue for the bus up at about 4.30am, simply to be able to snag ourselves the best spots to enjoy the sunrise. It was definitely worth it.

After that pretty successful achievement, off we were back to Cusco and on our train everybody just knocked out, which is how we got some sneaky pictures. The next day there wasn't really any time for relaxing as I had signed up for water rafting (oh god) in a freezing cold river. It was amaaazing though and to treat my sore muscles from paddling and the hike two days before, we indulged ourselves in a welldeserved massage. 

(this wrapped-up,little lady always managed to fall asleep on top of me haha - miss you MJ!)

Peru, as pretty much every country I've visited so far has just blown my mind. It was beautiful and can't wait to show off my other adventures in the inca land. But that's for my next post (:

Besitos,

Joelle x

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crazy ecuador

After our jungle adventure in Tena things got a litle bit crazy. We made our way to Baños, another 6-7h bus ride and finally found ourselvws in a cute little valley surrounded by beautiful mountains. That same day, some of us decided to jump pff a bridge and swing around a bit - not something I was keen on doing especially after a nauseating bus drive. 

After a fun night out with some old school american chart songs, great food but too much alcohol it was time for bed as I stupidly decided to go for a spontaneous hike in the morning. Looking back I probably should have just slept in. Two friends and I decided to hike up a fairly steep hill (with altitude and all quite a struggle) with a view overlooking Baños. Huffing and puffing we finally arrived at the top and I have to say the view was pretty amazing. However on the way back down, whilst nearly slipping on each and every stone this white, fluffy dog appeared out of nowhere and started barking at us furiously. Usually the stray dogs I've seen so far bark and keep their distance. This one in particular though, wasn't having any of it. He kept coming closer, growling and barking and as I was walking in front instead of running I tried to shoo him away. It seemed as if I had succeeded, the other girls passed but as soom as I turned around that little bugger bit right into my calf destroying one of my only pair of jeans ü, but I guess that wasn't that relevant at the time (; Luckily one of the girls I was hiking with was a doctor and cleaned up my little wound. In fact it was her who insisted on gettimg a rabies shot. So we made our way back to the hostel, tried to wake up our guide (who was very hungover from the night before) and made our way to the hospital. Hospitals in Ecuador, and what I've seen so far in whole of South America are definitely not what you expect. Hardly any organization, corruption and crime, people crying and mourning over their lost ones and somewhere in the distance you can hear screams filled with pain. That public hospital simply looked at my wound and told me that for that small bite, no jab was needed. Luckily, a private clinic saw reason and finally gave me the jab - much to my mother's delight I guess.

After that small and unfortunate incident it was time for some ziplining. I had no idea what I got myself into. Instead of just flying over a canyon from one end to the other, we actually had to navigate over a hanging bridge without something to really hold on to and then worst of all climb up an overhanging cliff. There wasn't even a way back. In the end, we all managed the different tasks although a couple of tears were shed by some but in a way it was definitely worth it. I got a video on DVD of me 'mastering' those horrific tasks, but to be honest I don't even want to see it. I'll have to wait until I'm in Switzerland anyway (:

After that scary little episode we made our way up a mountain, I can't even recall the name of it, but it was a bit further up from the one I just hiked up the same morning. Casa del Arbol (= the Treehouse) was located on top of it, also known as the End of the World Swing. A must when you're in Baños just to get a pretty sick picture. But it was quite fun swinging from a tree house and seeing the beautiful landscape stretched out in front of you, I definitely can't complain.

Our next stop after Baños was Cuenca, a pretty little colonial town set at an easy peasy 2500 meters above sea level. We didn't do a lot except jump on the hop on hop off bus that basically just drove us around the whole city, which is why we ended up with sunburns (at this altitude quite dangerous!) and in a bar, craving un refresco.

And if you believe it or not, the next crazy thing was just about to happen. After getting soaked in the rain, we finally got to our accommodation and tried to dry off and get warm again. The organized girl that I am, started to pack my stuff together but suddenly I felt as if the earth was pulled out from under me. At first I blamed it on the altitude causing me to feel a little faint. But after the second and third time of actually feeling the house shake I looked at my roommate, wondering if I was the only one going crazy. I'm happy to say I'm still sane and actually lived through one of the strongest earthquakes Ecuador had in years. We were lucky that our area wasn't as badly affected as other places, which is why we joked about it afterwards (apparently one of the girls was sat on the toilet while all of this happened). However, only days after the incident we saw in the news what a big impact the earthquake really had. Quite scary!

Cuenca was one of our last stops in Ecuador and I was so sad to leave it so soon. Once again I wish I had more time here, but I'll definitely come back again (as soon as possible) to explore it and the people some more. 

We crossed the border to Peru (always a pain in the butt when lovely immigration officers feel like they need to rummage through your bags and then end up not being able to close them again...) and ended up in Mancora, a tourist beach place in the north of Peru where we stayed for a couple of days to simply relax and enjoy the sun. And that's exactly what we ended up doing. From laying in hammocks (again!) to morning yoga sessions at the beach and swimming, we did it all and enjoyed some great food. I even dared to take my first surf lessons that turned out to be a lot more successfull than anticipated.

This tour was coming to an end with a rather uninteresting stop at Trujillo and Huanchaco (they had some great ruins though) and exhausting night buses to Lima I was sad to say goodbye to everyone of them but nevertheless looking forward to my next adventures (part of which also entailed traveling in a group and visiting machu picchu!!!) 

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